The Willy Wonka of food returns in a freshly baked series that sees him pay homage in his madcap way to some of Britain’s most cherished culinary treats

We’re talking pies as the Willy Wonka of food, Heston Blumenthal, returns in a freshly baked series that sees him pay homage in his madcap way to some of Britain’s most cherished culinary treats while having a rummage through their history.

First to take centre stage is the humble pie.

Here in the UK we chomp through a whopping 123 million of the little fellas a year.

That’s a lot of short-crust pastry!

But as Heston explains, pies were invented in the 13th century as a way of transporting meat.

“Think of them as a medieval equivalent of a Tupperware container,” he tells us.

It was only 300 years later in the 1600s that some bright spark had the idea of adding fat to the ingredients and, hey presto, overnight the rock hard crust became edible.

Besides the history lesson, Heston whips up a three-course banquet for a selection of pie shop owners.

He concocts a version of a traditional gala pie using beetroot and horseradish ice cream to mimic pork mince (naturally), creates some gruesome edible body parts in homage to London’s most notorious pie-making murderer, Sweeney Todd, and launches a potato into space in his quest to make the fluffiest ever mash… although that doesn’t quite work!

It’s all entertaining, outlandish fun, that you will never in a million years try to replicate in your kitchen.

A word of warning, you might want to close your eyes for the 50-second close-up where Heston peels a lamb’s testicle for Bride’s Pie, a centrepiece for 17th century weddings.

Just be grateful you’re not one of the modern brides we see actually getting to taste the thing.